Caitlin Clark- A to Z

The following are my observations from watching most of Clark’s college games, reading a lot this summer, watching all the Fever games this summer, watching other WNBA games, and listening to commentary on social media. I haven’t been to a single practice so my knowledge is like most “know it all bb fans,” probably only accurate in my own mind.

A- Aliyah Boston- She seems to be a class act. She seemed to embrace Clark being drafted and all the publicity. And yes Iowa fans, there are actually other players on the Fever roster. At 6’5”, the combination of Clark and Boston needs to be developed more that it has to date. I would like to know where Boston got the ball in college and where she really would like to get it now. It seems they get it to her a lot on the right block and I am not sure she is comfortable with what she wants to do from there. 

The ball screen with Boston and Clark has the potential to be a force to reckon with. On the year at this point, Boston is 2 for 5 on threes. I hope that her threat as a three point shooter increases. If she is effective running a pick and pop, or if she can makes decisions in a short roll situation, it will help spread the floor for Clark.

B- Bluder- Lisa Bluder did an absolutely fantastic job in her use of Clark and her development of the team. Getting a team to understand roles is not an easy task. Getting the other players to accept that one player is a star is really hard. It is even harder to get the other player’s parents or in the pro’s the other player’s agents to accept that one player is a star. In my career, I had five seasons where one player scored twice as many points as the next player and took 200 more shots than next player. In three of those cases, all worked out well, in two of the cases there were players who whined about it.

Initially I was going to say hiring Bluder to coach Indiana would be ill-advised. It seems like it would create more issues for the team chemistry, as if they now had Clark’s coach. The more I think about it- Bluder has been successful building team chemistry her entire career. So why not?

C- Curry- When people talk about the all-time best NBA player, they talk about Jordan, James, Champerlain, Jabbar. While everyone recognizes that Steph Curry is great, he is not considered in the debate as the GOAT. He has revolutionized the game with his deep threes and his passing. He has made the game fun to watch. He has helped change the game into a Grinnell type philosophy with high volume of threes. Caitlin Clark is Steph Curry. Caitlin has captured fans the way Steph has. Maybe at some point she will be in the conversation as being a WNBA all-time great. I think she will be more Steph than Lebron in her influence. 

The huge similarity between Caitlin and Steph has to do with their “deep three” ability. NCAA women stats define deep three at 25-30 foot shots and NBA defines it as 30+ foot shots. Caitlin and Steph are two of the only players in women’s NCAA or NBA who’s deep three percentage is close to their regular three percentage. For her college career, Clark shot 37.7% on threes and 39.2% on deep threes- she is better with logo threes. Steph Curry is 42.7 threes and 36.2% on deep threes. You don’t find other players over 35% on deep threes. This is what makes them unique. Neither is close to being the best three point shooters but both are great at logo threes. 

D- Draft- People need to realize that Indiana didn’t get the number one pick because they were in the WNBA finals last year. To me it is glaring that they have so few players who seem to be able to catch the ball- that will improve with practice and getting used to her passes. For being on WNBA level, Indiana needs more three point shooters. 

E- Eyes- Caitlin Clark has brought thousands of eyes to TV and thousands of butts to games. The WNBA and the Indiana Fever need to realize that they can not screw this up. The Indiana coach seems much more concerned with winning than Clark/Boston development. I am sorry but Indiana is not going to win the WNBA title this year, so while the coach needs to win enough to keep her job, her focus must be on Clark’s development. The Fever and the coaching staff must understand that the development of Clark/Boston duo will be their legacy- good or bad. Indiana’s primary job in the middle of a rebuild is to use Clark/Boston in a way to keep the eyes on the Fever.

F- Fouls- Bad defensive teams foul a lot. A foul is usually a combination of either laziness or poor positioning. The Fever foul like a JH team.

G- Gabby Marshall- When you have a superstar, you need a Gabby Marshall. At Iowa, Marshall wasn’t worried about scoring average- she knew her role. She took the role of being the one to guard the best player on the floor. Going forward, the Fever don’t necessarily need the best players but the best fits. I am not advocating that they need Gabby Marshall, but they need players with specific talents. Right now they need shooters. With as many players cut from WNBA teams- there have to be two lights out three point shooters out there. The Fever need to go after them.

H- Hawkeyes- All of you Hawkeye fans out there, just shut up. You are not helping Caitlin Clark. I always told parents of my players not to put brag or whine things on the social media. The same goes for Hawkeye fans- you are acting like selfish parents with no concern for the team and just concern for Caitlin. Yes, some of your complaints may be true but too often you sound stupid and you are a negative reflection on Clark. I challenge Hawkeye fans to “adopt one Fever player” (other than Caitlin). Read up on her history, watch her during games, and root for her. Work to become a Fever fan. 

I- Indiana- Indiana University’s Grace Berger is a real question mark. She was the 7th pick in the 2023 draft. She had a great career at Indiana, but more importantly seemed to be a winner. At this point she is playing only 11 minutes per game. If she is not playing because she is young and needs to develop- then get her more playing time and let her develop. If drafting her 7th was a mistake, then the Fever need to look at who is making those decisions. Statistically she is not a long range shooter but she statistically seems to impact the game in so many ways. The Fever need to figure out what her role going forward will be. 

J- Mid-Range Jumpers- One of two things that the Indiana coach wants Clark to work on is her mid-range two’s. The Indy Star reported,”The coach even changed up pre-game shooting drills to work on two-pointers.” This completely goes against what basketball analytics recommends. In the NBA, the points per shot breakdown is: Mid-range=0.79, Threes above the break=1.05, Corner Threes=1.16, Layups=1.20, Unchallenged corner threes=1.29. In every level of basketball, the worst shots are mid-range jumpers. 

Right now in the NBA, 19% of shots are corner threes. I would suggest that with the combination of Clark/Boston, if Indiana got two good corner three shooters it would really open up the floor. But emphasizing the mid-range jumper is not something that I have heard any other coach decide to emphasize.

K- Kerr- Steve Kerr has been a mastermind about how to use Steph Curry and how to build around Steph Curry. Whether Christi Sides and her staff just studied hours of Golden State tape, or if they contacted Kerr and his staff, or talked with Steph Curry- there would be a real value to see what they could learn from Steve Kerr’s x/o’s. Golden State runs stuff with Curry at point and also coming off screens as a wing- copy them.

L- Lin Dunn- Dunn is the Fever GM. She needs to have direct input with the coach on how she wants to develop Clark and Boston. She needs input on how she wants to develop other young players like Berger. There are many, many talented college players who get drafted and don’t make WNBA teams- she needs to get some players from this group who can shoot the three. The Fever have chosen there core in Boston and Clark- now don’t go for the best players, go for the best fits to go with them. 

Dunn and ownership need to realize they have a lot more money coming in. If they decide to get another coach, they need to be willing to spend money to get what they think is the best coach possible. In free agency, they need to be willing to spend.

M- Mitchell- Iowa fans, Kelsey Mitchell is very good. Over the last four years, she has averaged 17.8 to 18.4 ppg. Clark can be good and Mitchell can be good. In order for Indiana to eventually win, the coach will need to figure out how to use both of their talents. 

N- No More Whining- WNBA and Clark are not the only whiners. I realize there are NBA players who whine every time they miss a shot. But Clark has talked about how important it is for her to grow the game and to excite young girls to play. Don’t just be a role model with how you shoot and pass- be a role model with how you respond to refs.

O- OB’s- Next time Coach Bluder comes to a Fever game, Coach Sides needs to ask her to take 30 minutes to show her Iowa’s out of bounds plays. She can get you 4-5 points more per game.

P- Practice- WNBA has created a brutal schedule, Fever fans are critical of Coach Sides and Hawkeye fans are very critical of Sides. I get the criticism, there are things in her schemes that are puzzling, but the Fever need practice time. They have played too many games. Maybe practice can clean up some of the puzzling things. If not…

Q- Question- Now that the Power Five will start having the ability to pay college athletes directly, the amateur model is gone. Is there a reason that Caitlin Clark with one more year of college eligibility couldn’t go back and play college basketball after the WNBA season?

R- Reese- Yep, finally got to Angel Reese. There are a lot of great players in the WNBA- Stewart, Plum, Wilson, Loyd, and more. And then Cameron Brink is going to great at her height and having three point range. Angel Reese is going to compete, play hard, and attack the offensive boards- but understand right now she has not developed as a shooter from almost any distance. So realize that just as Clark is more like a potential Curry than James or Jordan, Angel Reese is more like a potential Rodman than James or Jordan. I apologize for using NBA comparisons but I think more people right now are more aware of who they are. 

S- Sides- Coach Sides has been the lightning rod for anything negative with the Fever. Before judging her severely, it would be only fair to hear more of what her thought process on the direction for Clark, Boston, Mitchell and the Fever. I would like to understand her offense better- I am not feeling it now. I would like to understand better how she is trying to develop Boston and Clark- I am not seeing a plan right now. I would really, really, really like to know that she has Steve Kerr and/or Steph Curry’s phone number. I would really, really like to know that she has talked with Lisa Bluder or with Sue Bird’s pro coaches. Time will tell us- but right now I am not seeing that there is a sense of how important the development and the use of Clark is to the future of the Fever and to the entire WNBA. 

T- Trust- This is the most important of all the letters in this. It is a tough thing for a rookie to come in and be a star. Yes, her teammates have to trust her that she cares about the team more than she does herself, The other players are trying to make a living as a pro player too. Right now, I get the sense that Clark is really working to earn her teammates trust. Offensively, she is really doing a good job looking for the pass. She has almost become a pass first, shoot second player. This is fine. 

She looks like she is too worried about earning there trust. She is thinking too much vs. just doing what is natural. She needs to reach the point where she trusts them. In college, she didn’t worry about taking 3 long threes in a row- she knew Martin, Bluder, and Marshall trusted her. It will take time but she has to get to that point with the Fever. Her teammates and her coaches need to work on this. 

U- UConn- Caitlin Clark’s popularity does not take away from the accomplishments of the UConn dynasty, so UConn players can relax. 

V- Vanity- There have been so many great players over the years in college women’s game and in the WNBA. It is only natural that they feel a real sense of pride in their achievements. And it is not surprising that many of them feel slighted with the lack of attention they received. Caitlin Clark came at the right time and right place to get a huge national following. Just calm down and realize she is growing the game, just as many former players did.

W- WNBA- Use the Clark effect to keep growing. Take increased revenue and use it to enhance your product.

X- X-Factor- The X-Factor for Indiana going forward is going to be finding shooters to go with Clark, and design an offensive scheme that takes advantage of her skill set. Golden State found Klay Thompson- the Fever have to find that catch and shoot player to go with Clark. 

Y- YMCA- When I coached YMCA biddy ball with Allen, I finally got a set of red and set of black wrist bands. Black wrist band meant you took the ball out of bounds. Red wrist band meant you dribbled the ball up the floor. Give Caitlin a red wrist band and give her the ball.

Z- Zebras- The “stripes” (refs) in the WNBA are not of the quality of the WNBA players. Their inconsistency of calls, and their failure to recognize which contact creates advantage/disadvantage must be addressed if the WNBA is going to keep fans. I am not whining about calls for or against Indiana, I am just saying the game needs to have a much better flow, and consistency. Improve the officiating.